According to Assistant Police Chief Ronnie Bowman, the coyote had been hit by a car and injured and had been roaming city street for a few days.

After receiving several calls about the injured animal, they located the coyote Friday on Jackson Street. Officers were found the coyote behind an area business and put it down.

Thanks to urban expansion, coyote encounters with people are more common than ever before. Officials say coyotes, for the most part, aren't anything to worry about.

However law enforcement officials have seen increased reports of coyote attacks on family pets. The DNR urges pet owners to fence their pets, secure their garbage lids, and never leave pet food out overnight.

If a coyote is perceived to be a nuisance, a landowner is allowed to shoot and kill the creature, although whether that's allowed depends on local firearm ordinances. If the animal isn't shot during fur-trapping season, the pelt must be handed over within a few days. However, she says not many coyotes are shot in Indiana.